MA Acting for Stage, Screen and Recorded Media

With our master’s course in acting, you’ll develop the intuitive, intellectual and empathic qualities that drive you to perform at the highest levels of artistic practice. 

Our course bridges the gap between a degree in other subjects – or previous acting experience – and the standard expected by the theatre, TV, film and recorded media industries. 

Practical studio and rehearsal-based training with experienced practitioners is at the heart of this programme, which will be supported by regular opportunities to work with visiting actors and directors.  

You’ll have a combination of core acting methods, physical and vocal skills classes, which you will then explore and put into practice in projects on naturalistic and heightened text, audio and screen performance.

You’ll then take on roles in professionally directed public performances selected from a wide and challenging repertoire, joining our other actors, stage managers, technical theatre, and design students as a member of the Richard Burton Company. And through your own research, production and performance of a solo project, you’ll gain the confidence to create original work for a public audience. 

Classes on securing and sustaining work with professional casting directors and agents culminate in you joining our other actors in showcases to invited audiences of agents, casting directors and potential employers in Cardiff, London’s West End and New York (for American students). 

• Your development will be led by a teaching team made up of renowned practitioners (both in-house and visiting), including directors and actors, drawn from across industry. They offer not only offer first-rate teaching but mentoring and networking opportunities as well.
  
• This course doesn’t align with any single philosophy of actor training – instead, we bring many influences to bear on your work, so you can make informed choices about the different approaches to acting that uses and extends your personal strengths.
• You’ll join our third-year actors and collaborate with other students from across drama and music as part of the Richard Burton Company. Here, you’ll test your training and experience the rigorous demands of the professional theatre environment in full productions, giving a real sense of what working the industry is like.
• You’ll get mentoring and support in the initiation, production and performance of an original piece of work – skills that we consider invaluable for developing a sustainable portfolio career in acting.
• Your cohort will perform in actors’ showcases in Cardiff, London’s West End, and New York (for those eligible to work in the US) attended by industry employers, casting directors and agents. Alongside other professionals, they’ll also conduct masterclasses and workshops, as well as offer audition opportunities.
• Your training encompasses a range of approaches and techniques that build your stamina, skills and empathy – you’ll have core acting skills workshops that explore strategies in working with texts, building a character, improvisation and performing Shakespeare.
  
• And in your vocal skills classes, you’ll focus on effective physical techniques for performance, as well as vocal physiology, dialect and accents. You’ll also have specialist lessons in singing, repertoire and musical theatre performance.
  
• You’ll also take part in a range of lessons that explore techniques and requirements for acting on screen.
• Our class sizes are small – allowing tutors to really focus in on your individual skills and development. We will get to know you well and be able to adapt to your needs.
  
• To improve your employability, you’ll have practical workshops that orient you to the theatre, TV and drama industries including work with a range of professionals from the production and casting industries to hone your interview and audition technique and provide opportunities to network.